


PrimeTime

by SeventhStrife



Series: AAC: 2017 [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, M/M, Soul Bond, Soulmates, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-09 23:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12898923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventhStrife/pseuds/SeventhStrife
Summary: Steam VS Smoke AUWorking in a coffee shop can have its…strangeness…but it has to be said that nothing topped that one person who Character A could’ve sworn was hiding a tiny dragon under the lapel of their jacket.There's chance meetings, and then there's...this.





	PrimeTime

**Author's Note:**

> AAC got me back at it again.

His feet were sore, his head was killing him, and when Cloud glanced at the clock, he still had an hour left until his shift is over.

He balefully cast his eyes over the customers seated throughout the cafe, leisurely sipping their coffees without a care in the world.

 _Kill me,_ he silently pleaded to them, bitterly regretting every second of polite customer service; why is he mustering up fake smile after fake smile when, with or without it, they're all content to leave him to suffer?

 _This is Zack's fault._ It wasn't the first time Cloud's had this thought, and it probably won't be the last.

 _'It's just for a week!'_ Zack had stressed, blue eyes wide and hopeful. _'Just long enough to help Aeris get settled in her new place. Besides, it's easy_ work _.'_ When Cloud had only given Zack a particularly flat look, he'd only laughed and given Cloud a noogie. _'It'll build character!'_

Zack was full of shit. In three days he'd already borne witness to: a customer insistent on paying for a six-dollar order entirely in nickels; The Unmentionable Bathroom Incident; a mother changing her baby's diaper on the table; seven drug deals; three cringe-worthy attempts at flirting—he'd even received a pocket Bible in lieu of a tip.

No, the only bit of personal growth he'd managed to gain was patience; patience to deal with these people, and use the time to search his heart and soul for a reason not to punch Zack in the face the moment he saw him.

The odds weren't in his favor so far.

Cloud's only help today had been a guy named Kunsel. He seemed nice enough, and could certainly handle customers better, but he'd gotten off thirty minutes ago, leaving Cloud to close.

Outside, the light drizzle of rain—a near-constant in a city like Midgar—had heightened into a storm.

_Maybe I'll get lucky and no one else will come in._

The bell hanging above the door chimed and Cloud had to close his eyes for a few seconds, purely so he didn't scream.

_Of course._

Digging deep, Cloud stopped pretending to wipe down the counter and faced the newest customer, making his tone super-polite in order to make up for his inability to smile.

"Welcome to _Antidote."_ Cloud managed to keep his expression from changing, but only just barely. "What can I get you today?"

"Hm," the man mused idly, as if he weren't the most striking figure in the history of existence. He narrowed his green eyes at the menu, giving Cloud ample opportunity to stare.

The _hair._ How...just _how?_ It was so long, longer than he'd ever seen a girl's. And _silver!_ The maintenance _alone_ must be _awful._ Cloud nearly felt sympathy tears prick his eyes.

He was so tall, easily towering over Cloud. Broad of shoulder, easy on the eyes with dark, simple clothing and a long black coat that highlighted his figure to his advantage...Cloud glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed, wondering if perhaps a celebrity had wandered into his midst.

The newest customer was getting looks, certainly, some awed, mostly appreciative, but no one was surreptitiously whipping out their phones for a picture, or storming the counter for autographs...

_Maybe just a model or something._

"What do you have that's low on caffeine?"

Cloud blinked, forcibly ripped from his idle speculation.

"Usually...people go for the tea, but our hot chocolate's pretty good."

The man nodded, pulling a small folded wallet from the depth of his jacket pocket. "Then that, please. The largest size you have."

"Six-sixty, please."

As Cloud calmly swiped his card and gave him his receipt, he inwardly marveled. He could hardly believe this was real life. People who looked like this man lived inside magazine, movies. Not reality.

He just seemed so... _different_ from everyone Cloud had ever known. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something off about him, like he didn't belong.

The man slid his receipt across the counter and strode to the end to wait. Cloud took one look at the signature and decided it would be best for his mental well-being to refrain from deciphering the chicken-scratch that greeted him.

 _It's probably for the best._ The last thing Cloud needed was a name to muse over for however long this guy stayed in his mind.

Hot chocolate was simple enough to make, but he found himself taking care that it was _just_ the right amount of milk, the perfect creamy color, an enticing sweet-smelling aroma wafting up around him as he worked. In the meantime, he threw a few absent 'goodbyes' over his shoulder as his other customers began to trickle out. Each time he used the opportunity to eye the strange man. The last time, he couldn't help but speculate over his hair once more.

_Definitely dyed. It **has** to be._

Cloud didn't often spend time pondering other people, so by the time he finished making the drink and handing it over, he was ready to wash his hands of this attractive stranger forever.

"Here you are," he announced quietly, holding out the cup.

The stranger looked over at him with something akin to anticipation alighting in his gaze. He reached out, and a flash of color on his chest made Cloud glance down.

It was...a head. Small, thin, and shining an iridescent, bewitching silver. It flicked out a forked tongue, and it's electric green eyes met Cloud's just as two claws peeked out, pulling it's sleek form a little further from the inside of the coat it had previously been hiding behind.

Cloud blinked. It wasn't until he saw the man's hand, still outstretched towards him, that he noticed he'd pulled back slightly, cradling the drink as if it might shield him.

The man frowned. He opened his mouth, but when the _thing_ didn't disappear and reveal itself to be a trick of the light, Cloud spoke first.

"What is _that?"_

The man looked down at his chest, where Cloud was pointing. "...my coat?"

Cloud gave him an incredulous look. _His coat?!_

"What? _No,_ not your—no, the, the—" Cloud, curious despite himself, leaned closer, peering at the small creature. It swiveled its head to mirror him and seemed to be curious itself, because it pushed itself out further and stretched towards him. Cautiously, Cloud reached out, gasping quietly when it sniffed his fingers and its tongue flicked out, barely a whisper of touch. "... _This,"_ he finished breathlessly, awed.

He looked up and was surprised to see the stranger watching _him_ in shock, eyes wide, mouth agape. As if _Cloud_ were the one doing something amazing.

"...You can see him?" The man asked, bizarrely.

"Uh...yeah?" Cloud didn't understand, looking to the creature as if it might hold the answers. It watched him back guilelessly, little claws clutching his fingertip. Cloud resolved to never move again. "Should I not be able to?"

"I...I..." The man seemed beyond shocked. He shook his head after a moment, still staring at Cloud so oddly. "I suppose I got used to being the only one."

Cloud's eyebrows flew up. But one look around proved the man was right. No one was giving them a second glance, despite the fact that some beautiful, magical creature was stretched halfway across the counter in plain sight, shining a bright silver.

"Why can't anyone else see it? And what _is_ it?"

"He's a dragon," the man said quietly, as carelessly as if he were pointing out the sun. "And they can't see him because he's, essentially, a manifestation of my soul."

Cloud listened to this explanation, enraptured, only feeling more and more removed from reality the more the man spoke. But he was having a good time, even if this was probably some form of mental breakdown.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, alright," he said easily, accepting this new truth. He lightly brushed his finger down the side of the sleek, slim body, marveling in the smooth glide of scales. The dragon preened a bit, turning its snout towards the ceiling. A _dragon._ "Wow." A thought occurred, making Cloud frown. "Wait, why can _I_ see it?"

The man was watching Cloud carefully, had been for a while now, Cloud realized.

"Only someone with a matching soul should be able to see him. It's a deep connection that can't be mimicked."

Cloud blinked again, freezing. He stared up at the man helplessly as the dots began to connect.

"Wait," he said, something in his brain screaming _Panic! Panic!_ "That sounds like...like I'm your _soulmate_ or something."

He tried to say it jokingly, to convey a sense of _'How ridiculous would that be, right?'_ But the man just nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's a good word for it."

Cloud's jaw dropped. "I—I—" There were no words for this. Cloud straightened abruptly, face warm. He slammed the forgotten hot chocolate on the counter.

"I'm _not_ your soulmate." Minutes ago, Cloud was just a guy, counting down until he could clock out. How had things gone so wrong, so quickly?

"As I said, such a connection cannot be mim—"

 _"I don't care!_ This is—too much. This isn't real." Cloud stared at the bell over the door, praying for it to ring. _Anything_ to save him from this ridiculous, impossible situation.

Ripping his eyes away from the small dragon, Cloud stepped back, meant to walk away. But the man's hand darted out, grasping his forearm before he could move.

Cloud turned to him, angry, but felt his harsh words die at the look of desperation on the man's face.

 _"Please._ Please wait. At least let me explain. I know—I know this is strange, and sudden, but—" The man looked down a moment, expression falling to one of sadness. Of deep isolation. "I've—I didn't think you really existed. I didn't let myself believe. But now—" He took a deep, steadying breath. When he met Cloud's eyes, he showed him only steely determination. "Let me take you to dinner, at least. Please."

If the begging hadn't done Cloud in, the moment of vulnerability would have. The longing, the deep-rooted pain, the _loneliness—_ they were all emotions Cloud knew well, had struggled with, _still_ struggled with. Even if it was only for a short while, Cloud couldn't abandon someone to them, not when he knew the ache of them so intimately.

Sighing, Cloud nodded reluctantly. "My shift ends in half an hour."

The man's shoulders sagged with relief, and he finally released his panicked grip. "Thank you, Cloud."

Cloud startled for a moment, then remembered his nametag. He stared at the stranger suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"Who _are_ you?"

The man smiled, the expression a great deal more self-mocking than Cloud was expecting.

"I'm Sephiroth. And I'm...not from around here."

Cloud couldn't help how wry his voice came out, eyes dropping to the dragon still peeking from Sephiroth's coat.

"Yeah, no shit."

**Author's Note:**

> Story title is from [PrimeTime.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n4kb4tFtEU)
> 
> This prompt actually jumpstarted a whole brainstorm for an elaborate AU for this story. Will I ever write it? LOL probably not.


End file.
